Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The patterns were created using stitches detailed in All about Knitting. The first hat was very simple and a joy to knit. The second hat was difficult and I couldn't wait to finish.

The stitch used in this hat is called Three Color Tweed. It was created by knitting two stitches and then slipping one. In some rows the yarn was held in front of the slipped stitches and in other rows the yarn was held in the back of the slipped stitches. In addition, the stitches were offset in each row so that some were knit 2, slip 1 and other rows were knit 1, slip 1, knit 1. Since each row was knit using only one color the hat progressed rather quickly.

This hat was created with a combination of knit twill stitches, knit cable stitches and purl stitches. Since at the bottom of the hat three colors were used in one row, it was extremely difficult. All of the white stitches were purled, all of the blue and red were knit throughout the entire hat. The red stitches were created using a crossed rib stitch which means when there were two stitches together, the second one was knit, then the first and they were slipped off the needle together. I really enjoyed the cross stitch rib, but cabling the blue stitches was no fun at all. Therefore, after a while, the hat was reduced to two colors.

Creating unique patterns is a lot of fun. Sometimes it works well, and other time not so well. Have you created your own knitting patterns? How has it worked?

* I did not receive any compensation
for this recommendation. I'm just a homeschooling mom who has found
many products that I like. If you're interested in the products I
recommend on this blog I want to make it easy for you to find them. ** I am an Amazon associate and
receive a small portion of the sales on orders made after clicking in
from this site, which I promptly spend on homeschooling books and
supplies for my children.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

In Germany there is one day per year when fireworks are allowed. When the New Year begins most families emerge from the house and light off loads of highly explosive fireworks. For hours on end the booming goes on in surround sound. Fireworks are launched in cul de sacs, fields, and neighborhood intersections. Ordinary citizens light the type of fireworks reserved for the fire department in my hometown. The celebration is followed by a week of greeting all friends and acquaintances with "Happy New Year" and kisses on each cheek.

After watching the show, we attempted to capture what we witnessed in paintings. Using watercolor paper, watercolor paint, acrylic paint and two days the following images were created.

The silhouettes of trees and houses were sketched as we saw them from our safe viewing location in a farm field.

Watercolor paint was used to fill in the sky with a dark greyish hue intermixed with regions of faint color.

After the watercolor dried, black acrylic paint was used to fill the dark silhouetted areas.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Last year my daughter completed a similar bird's eye view drawing, but my son's turned out quite different. His drawing looks down on street full of buildings, where as my daughter's looks down on a point in the middle of a few buildings. In other words, his bird was flying much higher in the air down a street with rectangular buildings placed on a grid, and her bird was flying over a few building scattered together. Perhaps my son's bird was American and my daughter's was European?

This youtube video explains the steps for creating a city drawing from a bird's eye view.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Zentangles are art doodles meant to be done on small pieces of paper for relaxation.

The book one Zentangle a day give basic instructions for creating
Zentangles. First a few lines are drawn to contain the doodles. Next the
created regions are filled with doodle art. Finally the doodles are
shaded to add depth. Contained in the book are 150 different doodles
which are introduced a few a day, over the course of six weeks.

After creating a few small zentangles, my eight year old decided to fill an entire piece of paper. Many are done in black in white, but color adds new dimensions to
zentangles. A simple internet search reveals zentangle animals, plants
and other shapes sure to inspire. Creating zentangles is a fun way to learn some basic art techniques and the book One Zentangle a Day is a good reference for getting started.

* I did not receive any compensation
for this recommendation. I'm just a homeschooling mom who has found
many products that I like. If you're interested in the products I
recommend on this blog I want to make it easy for you to find them. ** I am an Amazon associate and
receive a small portion of the sales on orders made after clicking in
from this site, which I promptly spend on homeschooling books and
supplies for my children.

About Me

I am an American mother of three who spent six years living in Germany. Education has always been a primary focus for me. This blog is packed with fun educational activities for kids. Speed! is a skip-counting game I created in 2011 to help kids learn multiplication. In June 2012 my younger daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia, so that topic has quickly taken over a portion of this blog. You can reach me at
jmommymom @ gmail . com